Near Field Communication (NFC) allows a communications channel to be opened between two phones by touching them together or by touching the phone to a terminal (ie. a debit/credit card reader at a grocery checkout stand). GSM Association members have conducted trials throughout the world using NFC and are now starting to commercially launch the technology. It is expected that most new smartphones will soon be enabled with NFC capabilities. Similar to GPS chips and the enabling of location based services, it will take several years before applications and infrastructures are developed to take advantage of these new capabilities. In November 2010, AT&T®, Verizon® and T-Mobile® launched a joint venture (ISIS) to develop a single platform for mobile payments based on NFC.
It is expected that marrying NFC technology with existing smart phone technology will provide for a multitude of additional functionalities. For example, payments may be made by simply touching the phone to a terminal at checkout or another NFC enabled phone. In other embodiments, devices may be linked and perform various processing functions utilizing NFC or other short range wireless communications.
However, in some situations, both smart phone and NFC technologies, singly and in combination, may allow undesirable access to a device and/or device uses/features by a user. Conventional systems to limit device use and functionality, or alert other users of undesirable or restricted device use or presence, are limited in scope and availability.
For example, some application stores and devices can control the content presented to an end user through the use of age classifications such as Teen, Mature, PG13, etc. However, this approach can be impractical for many reasons. For example, it is common for teens to state that they are older than they are to gain access to adult features on social networks and devices can be passed down from parent to child. Similarly, certain environments may wish to restrict access to various users, applications, and device functionalities, such as sensitive work environments, restricted access locations, and areas having safety issues. Malicious and abusive users have found many inventive workarounds to traditional device detection systems, such as tin foil to block GPS tracking or WiFi/Cell Tower “man in the middle” spoofing to intercept and circumvent security protocols. Low cost alternatives may be desirable to prevent device usage or particular device features and/or applications in limited cases. For example, many states have passed safety laws restricting device use while operating a vehicle. However, such laws may be difficult to enforce by parents and guardians, who may only rely on their child's promise to comply and traditional policing efforts to enforce such laws.
There is thus a need in the art for improved systems and methods for monitoring device communications, application use, functionality, and presence.